Desert Springs all business with no bedside manner!
On the heels of the brouhaha over Obamacare, I penned a report on the quality of health care at a handful of major hospitals situated in Los Angeles and Las Vegas to test the waters.
In the initial post on medical facilities, I tossed a searing spotlight on - Cedars-Sinai, UCLA (Westwood), St. Rose, Spring Valley Hospital - etc.
The complaint issues included nurse incompetence, rude insulting conduct of medical staff, the infliction of nasty bruises on patient arms (demonstrating a lack of skills when undertaking simple blood-withdrawals), a failure to abide by a code of ethics, patient endangerment, and-so-forth and-so-on.
Post: 10/15/10http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/10/barack-obama-insurance-reform-racist.htmlShortly thereafter, it was evident that my accusations were not exaggerated or unfounded.
Indeed, the Los Angeles Times published a revealing feature on an investigation that was underway which was probing "nurses" and their tendency to hire on at local hospitals and clinics despite the fact their licenses had been pulled for a myriad of scandalous reasons.
Post: 12/28/10http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2010/06/cedars-sinainurse-abuse-more-widespread.htmlIn response, I followed up with a supportive post - in which I applauded the LA TIMES writers for exposing the wrongful (illlegal) acts - and likewise - getting the tawdry tale right.
Post: 06/2710http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2010/06/cedars-sinainurses-ditzy-and-clueless.htmlAbout two weeks later, I sat bolt upright on the couch in shock, when a news alert urged viewers at home to stay tuned for an upcoming feature on nurses in Vegas accused of ripping-out
cafeters resulting in harm to patients.
Uh-huh!
In retrospect, it appears that reporters at the daily paper (and moi) were right on the money with our news-breaking feature reports on disreputable "Nurses" at large weeks earlier.
This week, I was fortunate to witness a patient go through all the necessary steps at the emergency department at Desert Springs, so I could prepare this expose on the state of urgent health care treatment at Vegas facilities.
What an eye-opener.
From an altruistic standpoint, the comedy of errors that went down in the dreary halls, was the perfect example of what is wrong with the health care system in this country today.
Around midnight - a tourist slowly maneuvered his way to the front desk at Desert Springs - suffering from chest pains, heat exhaustion, and dehydration.
In view of the fact the mercury soared at 113 degrees for the better half of the day, the man's down 'n out demeanor and haggart look (an image straight out of an American Express ad) was not surprising.
An employee at the desk instructed the middle-aged man to fill in an admission form.
At the instruction of the uniformed nurse, he strolled over to the designated window, and politely asked for the paperwork.
Without hesitation, the mean-spirited loser snapped back at him.
"I don't have the form. You have to get one off the wall rack over there."
Was it necessary for the jerk-off to be so unkind to a stranger in obvious pain and need of help?
Was is not a part of his job description to be of assistance to patients?
The down-hearted gent walked about two baby paces, spied the forms tacked onto clip boards hanging on nails on the end wall, and proceeded to pluck one up and input the personal info.
He strolled back to the intake window and handed the clip board over to the lump in the chair with little ado.
"I don't want the clip board. Just the sheet of paper," the tired old worker snarled.
What a piece of shit!
Wasn't it obvious the patient was sick as a dog, suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration, and deserving of a little compassion and understanding?
After the patient's vitals were taken, the doctor ordered a potassium drip and a potent pre-packaged liquid to be administered to hydrate the sick patient (and boost his electrolytes).
Although the doctor's directive was written up at approximately 3 a.m. - the medicine was not injected into the patient until 7 a.m. the next morning - when the new shift of nurses signed on for their stint in Emergency.
Negligence or laziness on behalf of the night-time nurses?
Finally, about ten hours after the under-the-weather patient first-strolled through "Emergency's" broad sliding doors, the patient landed unceremoniously in his comfy bed on the 3rd floor.
At least the room had a view of the Vegas sideline.
Meanwhile, the blunders continued.
When the patient was rolled in-and-out of the "dough-nut" (an expensive machine that conducts a scan of the body) the nurse failed to notice that a cap came off of the I-V wiggling precariously in his arm.
Subsequently, it wasn't until the medical staff ended the procedure, that they finally noticed that the patient was bleeding all over his arm, sheets, and gurney.
After a series of x-rays were taken, a nurse in charge of the same patient, was instructed by telephone to drop the individual off for a second procedure that included a sonar scan.
No one responded to a knock on the door when the patient was first delivered there - so the inexperienced orderly left the patient in the hall - trusting that the doctor in charge of carrying out the procedure would show up momentarily and perform the delicate (vital) task by his lonesome.
Thirty-minutes later, when there was a no-show, the patient rolled himself down the hall in a wheelchair where he sought help from Hospital staff dashing licketty-split in all directions.
Finally, one employee spied the desperate patient and offered some assistance.
Back to square one!
The frustrated patient was wheeled back down the hall and parked in front of the same lifeless door.
For one fleeting moment, the spooked-out patient hazarded a guess, that he had entered Rod Serling's Twilight Zone.
At long last, a blue-suited man arrived in a jumble of flubber, and whisked him back upstairs to his cheerful room.
Upstairs, the nurses and management types tried to figure out what happened.
Duh!
From the patient's end, it appeared that he had been dropped off at the wrong location.
But, the individuals assigned to perform the medical procedure, were adamant that no one informed them that the patient had been delivered to their door (while they were off in the busy hospital elsewhere).
Unfortunately, this meant that the hungry patient was barred from eating his lunch, since a 6-to-8 hour fast was required before a scan could be undertaken.
And, of course, the patient had to sit and twiddle his thumbs until a new appointment came available.
If one did not magically present itself, what then?
The luckless patient would be forced to fast all over again, until the following morning, when clinic staff would make a second attempt to perform the procedure.
Talk about a lack of organization and professionalism.
Screwy, if 'ya ask moi.
Unfortunately, the doctor in charge of the patient's care - David H. Rosenstein - turned out to be a quack, too.
When it came time to be discharged, for instance, Rosenstein's paperwork was flimsy, shoddily-tossed together, and downright unprofessional.
Even the discharging Nurse shrugged in disbelief.
"That's all there is," she half-whisppered somewhat embarrassed.
Specifically, the doctor neglected to draft a report on the patient, the reasons for appearing at Emergency, what action was taken (if any), and info on follow-up.
The inept physician (I use the term loosely) didn't even prescribe any medication or suitable pain killer to stave off any relapse until such time as he was on the road to recovery.
When the patient asked the Nurse to contact the doctor to resolve the problems, at first, she refused.
"He's gone now," she stated matter-of-fact.
"Then, page him, please!"
The over-sized "Marge" lumbered down the hall and disappeared inside a room.
GOSH!
The patient was left waiting for about twenty-five minutes.
In spite of that, the Nurse came up empty-handed.
"The Doctor says you can get pain-killers over the counter."
Something suspicious was going down here.
While Ms. Congeniality was off to no good, I suddenly noticed that Mr. Rosenstein didn't have any credentials posted next to his name on Hospital discharge papers and others I stumbled on after a quick search.
Other doctors on the payroll, had posted titles such as "MD" next to their surnames, so it begged the question.
Does David H. Rosenstein have a license to practice medicine in Nevada?
At this juncture, I asked the Nurse to speak to the Director of the Hospital, so I could discuss the issues further.
My jaw dropped when she uttered up her response.
"The Doctors at Desert Springs don't have any supervisor or director to answer to," she mumbled.
"Are you saying that Dr. Rosenstein's medical performance is not being monitored by anyone at the hospital facility."
She responded in the affirmative!
OMG!
In an "emergency" situation in the future, it may behoove patients to drive on, unless they're prone to leaving their life in the hands of frauds like David H. Rosenstein.
